Friday, April 6, 2012

Since our initial announcement back in February we have received a lot of interest and inquiries from friends, family, and even strangers alike regarding the brewery. Today we wanted to share an update that comprises a couple of different topics that gives you a better idea of what we have been up to lately.

First off, a couple weeks ago Rick Armon contacted us regarding an interview for the best source of Ohio brewing news (we encourage you to favorite his site for the most up to date news here in the Ohio brewing community). Naturally, we were very excited and obliged to take part in the interview. Rick did a great job with the interview and we had a blast talking to him about brewing here in Cincinnati. Links to the main page of The Ohio Beer Blog and our interview transcript are seen below:

**Unfortunately Bobby couldn't make it to the interview this time, so next time we'll make sure to corner him and get him to spill some of his thoughts about the brewery here on Brewing with Friends**

Secondly, in February we posted some general teasers on the concept and what we were planning to do. In hindsight that may not have been the best idea...Bobby, Blake, and I have been bombarded with questions since the initial post went up! So today we decided to field five of the most frequently asked questions....

Q#1: (and by far the most asked question of them all): What's the name of the brewery?

A: As much as everyone is going to hate this answer...we are still working on the name for the brewery. This is a work in progress and we will be sure to release just as soon as we possibly can!

Q#2: When is the brewery going to open?

A: The short answer is we don't know exactly when the brewery is going to open. The longer answer included boring details regarding permitting, equipment delivery, and federal licensing. Now, I realized, I used my 'get out of jail free' response on the first question...so I will cave a bit on this one and share that our goal is to be open Mid-Summer 2012.

Q#3: What types of beers are you going to be brewing?

A: Brewmaster Blake has put together our tentative brewing schedule for our first 7 brews. We are not going to be focusing on one particular style/genre of beer - our focus lies in brewing a variety of high quality beers that our customers enjoy. Among the first 7 brews we will have German, Belgian, and American style beers. I am hesitant to share exactly which beers we are planning to have on tap, but in the spirit of this Q&A blog, I will assure that a German Wheat, an IPA, and a Brown Ale are in the initial plans for our opening.

...upon further thought...maybe we should be brewing an eighth beer...the Joey Votto Red Ale? I'll have to run that one by the brewmaster, but something tells me it should be a customer favorite for the next 10 years or so??? GO REDS!

Q#4: Are you going to have food at the brewery? And if so, what kind?

A: First off, yes, we will have food at the brewery. Do we have an exact menu, an exact plan, and an exact idea of how it's going to work out? No. I can tell you that we are set on serving BBQ at the brewery but exactly how it's going to be done is still up for debate. I have been pestering Bobby on and off over the last 2 months trying to convince him to take on the title of official BBQ-Pit-Master...but no luck as of yet. All jokes aside, we are working through our options and intend to have a concrete plan within the next month or so.

Q#5: Will you be bottling or canning?

A: Initially we will not be bottling or canning any beer for distribution/mass-production purposes. We are evaluating our options to do some limited release bottling, but at the moment we are far more concerned with making sure we are brewing a quality product for the brewpub and any key accounts we decide to begin distributing to.

I hope everyone has enjoyed this post and found Rick's interview informative and interesting along with a quick recap of our 5 most frequently asked questions. We can assure that we are doing everything we can to keep this project moving along as efficiently as possible. We will continue to provide pertinent updates and information through the Brewing with Friends blog and also the Brewing with Friends Facebook group. If you are not currently a member of the group, shoot a request and we will get you added so you can keep up to date with any developments that are not posted here.

Blake, Bobby, and I would like to wish all of you a safe and happy Easter with your family and friends!